FIJIAN ELECTIONS OFFICE. Postal Voting Courier Services 2018 General Elections. Request for Tender (RFT) (07/2017) Request for Tender

Transcription

1 FIJIAN ELECTIONS OFFICE Postal Voting Courier Services 2018 General Elections Request for Tender (RFT) (07/2017) Request for Tender Closing Date: 4.00pm 8 December 2017

2 ABOUT FIJIAN ELECTIONS OFFICE The Fijian Elections Office (FEO), is a statutory organisation established under the Electoral Act The Fijian Elections Office's core business activity is delivery of fair and credible elections in Fiji. INTRODUCTION The Fijian Elections Office wishes to engage the services of reputable courier services companies for Postal Voting Courier Services for the 2018 General Elections. The Fijian Elections Office is releasing this Request for Tender (RFT) to invite reputable companies or those that are in the business of printing services to submit tender. OBJECTIVES An accepted proposal should provide the following: Company Profile; Provide guarantee of safe vehicles; Promotes innovation and continuous improvement; and Achieve value for money in expenditure of public funds TENDER COORDINATOR Upon release of this Request for Tender, all Bidder communications concerning this Tender must be directed to the Tender Coordinator listed below; Riaz Hanif Manager Procurement and Asset Management Fijian Elections Office High Street, Toorak, Suva riaz.hanif@feo.org.fj Please use the RFT Reference Number and Title in all communications with the RFT Coordinator. Unauthorized communication regarding this request with Fijian Elections Office employees or representative may result in disqualification. Any oral communications will be considered unofficial and non-bidding on Fijian Elections Office. Bidders should rely only on written statements issued by the RFT Coordinator. All communications and information to be provided electronically.

3 ENSURING THE SUCCESS OF THE LONG-TERM PARTNERING RELATIONSHIPS Executive and Management level commitments between tenderer and the FEO need to be in place to provide the framework for a long-term partnership. Partnering principles will be clearly articulated in the contract document and tenderer s alignment with the principles will be an important part of the evaluation process. The partnering principles include: Direct executive oversight and involvement; Competitive pricing and predictability of on-going costs and expenses; Committing empowered executives to support the partnership; Ensuring proper alignment of accountability and responsibility for the relationship; Committing quality resources to support the partnership; and Protecting the FEO's long term investment in the solution. VENDOR INSTRUCTIONS Proposal Responses: The FEO must receive responses to this RFT no later than the date specified in the advertisement. Proposals received after the due date will not be accepted. No additional time will be granted to any vendor unless by addendum to this RFT. Each Tender submission should accompany a refundable deposit of FJD $ in Bank Cheque payable to the Fijian Elections Office. For all unsuccessful Tenders, deposit will be refunded to the bidders. Vendors must submit one (1) original proposal with authorised signatures to the following address: Tender 07/2017 Postal Voting Courier Services The Tender Board, Fijian Elections Office. Submissions can be either be ed to tenders@feo.org.fj, or mailed to PO Box 2528 Government Building Suva, Fiji Islands, or placed in the Tender Box located at the reception of the Fijian Elections Office, at High Street, Toorak. Once the RFT is closed, bidders may be required to provide further information related to the specifications. All communications and information to be provided electronically. RFT Amendments The FEO reserves the right to request clarification on any proposal or to ask bidders to supply any additional material deemed necessary to assist in the evaluation of the proposal. The FEO also reserves the right to change the RFT schedule or issue amendments to the RFT at any time and also reserves the right to cancel or reissue the RFT. Rejection of Proposals The FEO reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any minor informalities or irregularities contained in any proposal, and to accept any proposal deemed to be in the best interests of the FEO.

4 Proposal Validity Period - Submission of a proposal will signify the vendor s agreement that its proposal and the contents thereof are valid for 90 days following the submission deadline and will become part of the contract that is negotiated between the FEO and the successful vendor. Disclaimer The FEO reserves the right to consult with external experts on any submissions and accompanying documentation. Non-Obligation Receipt of submissions in response to this RFT does not obligate the FEO in any way. The right to accept or reject any submission shall be exercised solely by the FEO. The FEO shall retain the right to abandon the Tender process at any time prior to the actual execution of a contract with a successful bidder, and the FEO shall bear no financial or other responsibility in the event of such abandonment

5 SPECIFICATION TENDER FOR POSTAL VOTING COURIER SERVICES The 2018 General Election Postal Ballot Plan involves the distribution of ballot papers to various countries across the globe. The FEO has divided these countries into regions in order to ensure that the Tender for the transmission of the ballot papers is spread amongst different companies. It is noted that there are certain companies who specialize in certain regions and this type of tendering will assist in procuring the best supplier for the region. As such the FEO have divided the globe into various regions as follows: i. Local (Fiji) ii. Pacific Islands iii. Australia and New Zealand iv. Rest of the World Postal Voting Quantity The quantity of postal ballot to be sent will be determined by the number of voters opting for postal voting in the 2018 General Election. The quantity required may not exceed 15,000 for local voters and 10,000 for overseas voters. Items to be couriered. The following items will be sent to the voters; Envelope (C5) containing: Ballot Paper (folded size to fit C6 envelope) Secret Envelope (C6) Transmission Envelope (A5) Pre-paid return envelope (C5) Voter Instruction Booklet (A5) Postal Voting Instruction Brochure Return envelope (C4) (Tamper Proof envelope) The following items will be returned by the voters; Return envelope (C4) (Tamper Proof envelope) containing: Ballot Paper (folded size to fit C6 envelope) Secret Envelope (C6) Transmission Envelope (A5) Pre-paid envelope (C5)

6 Destinations: Regions A. Local (Fiji) The following areas will be part of the postal voting option for local voters; i. All Urban Areas (including cities, towns and all peri urban areas outside the local government boundaries) ii. All Rural Areas iii. All Maritime Areas The tenderer for (region A) will need to specify the duration (number of days) it takes to send mails from Suva to the abovementioned areas. The tenderer for (region A) will also need to specify the duration (number of days) it takes to receive mails from the abovementioned areas and delivered to the Fijian Elections Office HQ, Suva. B. Pacific Island Countries 1. American Samoa 2. Cook Islands 3. Kiribati 4. Marshall Islands 5. Nauru 6. New Caledonia 7. Niue 8. Papua New Guinea 9. Samoa 10. Solomon Islands 11. Tonga 12. Tuvalu 13. Vanuatu C. Australia and New Zealand D. Rest of the World 1. Angola 2. Albania 3. Afghanistan 4. Austria

7 5. Belgium 6. Canada 7. China 8. Cyprus 9. Czech Republic 10. Egypt 11. Ethiopia 12. France 13. Germany 14. India 15. Iran 16. Iraq 17. Israel 18. Italy 19. Japan 20. Kenya 21. Kuwait 22. Laos 23. Lebanon 24. Mexico 25. Netherlands 26. Oman 27. Qatar 28. South Africa 29. South Korea 30. Sudan 31. Switzerland 32. Syria 33. Thailand 34. United Arab Emirates 35. United Kingdom 36. United States of America The final list of countries for regions B and D will be determined after the close of application for postal voting, twenty one (21) days before Polling Day. The tenderer for regions B, C and D will need to specify the duration (number of days) it takes to send mails from Fiji to the abovementioned destinations. The tenderer for regions B, C and D will also need to specify the duration (number of days) it takes to receive mails from the abovementioned destinations and delivered to the Fijian Elections Office HQ, Suva.

8 Tracking System Each postal ballot envelope needs to be tracked. The successful Tenderer should demonstrate the ability to track packages through a tracking/ postal system. This system should be able to successfully integrate with the FEO s database. Tamper Envelop Security Features The envelopes should be made of monolayer or co-extruded Polyethylene film. The Tamper Envelope should have at least 3 security features. These could include, but not limited to: 1. Tamper Proof a. Any attempt to tamper with the closed envelope in any known way, must leave unequivocal and unchangeable signs. b. The signs must be absolutely clear and not subject to any misinterpretation. c. The signs must be clearly visible at an arm's length. d. The security mechanism for alerting tamper attempts must be failsafe in order to prevent false alarms during normal use of the envelope. 2. Tamper Resistance a. FREEZING - Attempts to open the security tape at cold temperatures, below ambient temperature and down to 45ºC result in the appearance of the word STOP and/or the breaking of the security tape. b. HEATING - Attempts to open the security tape by use of heat above ambient temperature, result in the appearance of the word STOP and/or the breaking of the security tape, and/or distortion of the polyethylene. c. DISSOLVING - Attempts to open the envelope by dissolving the glue with different solvents cause a partial or full disappearance of the red colored, diagonally printed lines on the security tape and/or the disappearance of the blue background. Referees Tenderer is to provide the name and addresses of 2 clients who can verify the capacity of the tenderer to deliver a quality product within a tight timeframe. Pricing The pricing in the tender is to include all charges and taxes and be in Fijian Dollars.

9 The tenderer may offer different prices where they wish to vary the security features to be incorporated into the envelopes. Payment to be made only upon confirmation of successful delivery.